Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 175,053 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 8,077 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $4,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mason Street Advisors LLC raised its position in AeroVironment by 7.0% in the first quarter. Mason Street Advisors LLC now owns 4,813 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in AeroVironment by 0.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,860 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the first quarter worth about $211,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AeroVironment during the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in AeroVironment by 1.2% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) traded up 0.26% during trading on Monday, hitting $38.41. The company had a trading volume of 28,925 shares. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.62 and a 200 day moving average of $30.80. The company has a market capitalization of $893.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.13 and a beta of 1.31. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.16 and a 12-month high of $40.10.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 27th. The aerospace company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $125.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.90 million. AeroVironment had a return on equity of 3.49% and a net margin of 4.71%. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AeroVironment, Inc. will post $0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVAV. Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Thursday. BidaskClub lowered AeroVironment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Jefferies Group LLC increased their price target on AeroVironment from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. ValuEngine upgraded AeroVironment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded AeroVironment from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

In related news, Chairman Timothy E. Conver sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.33, for a total transaction of $606,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 66,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,614.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Timothy E. Conver sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.99, for a total value of $123,960.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 66,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,064,584.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,897 shares of company stock valued at $3,344,357 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, supports and operates a portfolio of products and services for government agencies, businesses and consumers. The Company operates through two segments: Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), which focuses primarily on the design, development, production, support and operation of UAS and tactical missile systems that provide situational awareness, multi-band communications, force protection and other mission effects, and Efficient Energy Systems (EES), which focuses primarily on the design, development, production, marketing, support and operation of electric energy systems.

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